Border closure turns once-bustling Venezuelan city into ghost town

The city's reliance on Colombia is starkly evident after Venezuela closed the border here last week and began deporting hundreds of Colombians, as part of measures the government says are designed to control smuggling and paramilitary activity. Opponents say Venezuela's socialist leader Nicolas Maduro has concocted a border dispute to distract people from a steep economic downturn in the run-up to parliamentary elections. "I haven't opened my cash register for a week," said Carolina Leon, 28, wh